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April 2006 brought the first video conference between Iraqi physicians at Baghdad’s Medical City Center and U.S. physicians at Washington D.C.’s Children's Hospital. Panels of physicians on both sides discussed medical cases for more than one hour.
Iraqi doctors forwarded four pediatric case records in advance via email so U.S doctors could prepare for the seminar. The teleconference centered on one young cardiac patient, two children with kidney disease and one juvenile cancer patient. In addition to the physicians staffing the cases, 100 Iraqi doctors benefited from the educational conference by observing the session on a large screen monitor.
Iraq medical personnel joined the video conference via satellite. All equipment and satellite connections in Iraq were provided by WiRED International through funding generously provided by the U.S. Department of State. Normally, the connection for this session would be direct. However, this conference had to be established through an ISDN line from Children's Hospital to San Francisco State University (SFSU); then from SFSU to Baghdad through a special Internet connection; and then via satellite to Medical City Center in Baghdad.
The telemedicine video conferences take place in Medical Information Centers established by WiRED International in hospitals in Baghdad, Basrah, Mosul, and Erbil. Satellite connections paired with sophisticated Polycom 7000 E video cameras make every corner of each telemedicine center visible to the international audiences. This technology allows physicians and medical students in both countries to teach and learn collaboratively through lectures, demonstrations, and actual cases.
The telemedicine conferences grew out of a consortium assembled by WiRED International with a group of medical institutions in the U.S. At present, the largest consortium members are:
- Children's Hospital (Washington, D.C.)
- National Medical Association (National)
- Massachusetts General Hospital (Boston)
- California Pacific Medical Center (San Francisco)
The next four telemedicine conferences will take place on Tuesday, April 18th. Iraqi physicians will participate from Erbil and U.S. physicians will participate from Children's Hospital in Washington D.C., Massachusetts General Hospital and California Pacific Medical Center. Doctors in the U.S. and Iraq will discuss the educational, informational and assessment needs of Iraqi medical educators, physicians and medical students. Senior-level medical students on both sides will conduct an open discussion about medical training. WiRED envisions frequent exchanges between medical students.
WiRED International, Iraqi medical personnel and our consortium partners at Children's Hospital thank San Francisco State University for its generous assistance with this international humanitarian program.
WiRED works in cooperation with the Marian Wright Edelman Institute at San Francisco State University.
WiRED is grateful to the U.S. Department of State, The Medtronic Foundation, Pfizer, Inc., Christopher Reeve Paralysis Foundation, American Federation of Teachers, and the many individuals who have generously supported our Medical Information Centers in Iraq.
Layout by Brian Colombe.
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